Blessed Pedro Calungsod to be declared 2nd Filipino saint

A poster depicting Pedro Calungsod hangs on the facade of St. Peter’s square at the …

The Vatican announced Tuesday that Blessed Pedro Calungsod of Cebu will be canonized as a saint for the Roman Catholic Church.

Once canonized, he will be the second Filipino Catholic saint following Saint Lorenzo Ruiz, who was elevated to sainthood in 1987.

According to Vatican’s news site, Pope Benedict XVI has officially approved the promulgation of decrees for canonization of Calungsod and six others who have been said to have performed miracles. No definite date, however, has been set for the canonization rites.

The authorized miracle of Blessed Pedro Calungsod reportedly happened in 2003 at a Cebu hospital when a woman who was clinically pronounced dead for two hours was allegedly brought back to life through the intercession of Calungsod.
A young martyr

Calungsod, together with companion Blessed Diego San Vitores, was killed while doing missionary work in Guam in 1672. He was 17 years old then. Through their missionary efforts, many were converted to the Roman Catholic Church through the Sacrament of Baptism.

A plot to murder Calungsod and San Vitores started through false accusations that the missionaries were spreading poison through the ritual of the pouring of water or baptism. They were both caught and murdered after baptizing a mother and her child.

Because of his association with the Chamorro natives of Guam, Calungsod is often portrayed with a crucifix and a palm leaf.

Calungsod, who was described by Vatican as a lay catechist and a martyr, was beatified by Pope John Paul II in 2000.

The other six candidates for canonization together with Calungsod are: Blessed Giovanni Battista Piamarta, Italian priest and founder of the Congregation of the Holy Family of Nazareth and of the Congregation of the Humble Sister Servants of the Lord; Blessed Jacques Berthieu, French martyr and priest of the Society of Jesus; Blessed Maria del Carmen, Spanish foundress of the Conceptionist Missionary Sisters of Teaching; Blessed Maria Anna Cope, German religious of the Sisters of the Third Order of St. Francis in Syracuse; Blessed Kateri Tekakwitha, American laywoman; and Blessed Anna Schaffer, German laywoman.